The
Fortifications of the Crusader Period

Introduction

The
fortifications of the Crusader period, i.e. the two centuries between
1100 and 1300 C.E.,
are of a special interest not only for the regional history of the
Levant but for the
history of fortification in general. Their scientific exploration
started 150 years ago with the investigation of the castles attributed
to the Crusaders and has since then attracted scholars of different
fields of interest. Although many of these objects have been studied in
detail
there are still many open questions. The reasons for this are the
insufficient state of research, the complex
multicultural historical setting, difficult research conditions due to
political circumstances and an often unilateral approach of scholars
focused exclusively on particular issues. Thus items like the town
defences and the pre-Crusader fortification of the region, both
fundamental for the assessment of developments in
fortification, were almost blinded out. As comprehensive research on
European
medieval fortifications has worked out, castles and town defences were
entities with a great
variety of functions and meanings, fully understood only by means of a
multidisciplinary approach. Furthermore, cultural preoccupations,
research traditions and the lack of a good acquaintance with these
objects,
which are spread over nine different countries, have effected
biased views. Since about two decades, however, these fortifications
and
their
functions are discussed in a wider frame, encompassing several aspects
that have not been considered before.

The Development of Fortification

Constantinople (Istanbul): S section of
Land Wall

In the Middle
Ages the Levant was an area crucial for the development
of fortification. The heritage of a rich past was adopted and
diversified by Byzantines, Muslims, Armenians and Crusaders. The
Byzantine-Arab wars and local conflicts during the 10th and 11th
centuries promoted
the evolution of fortification long before the Crusaders arrived in the
Eastern Mediterranean. Accordingly, the armies of the First Crusade on
their way to Jerusalem between 1096 and 1099 encountered the most
advanced
fortifications of the time: Con­­stantinople (now Istanbul),
Nicaea (now Iznik), Kaisariyya (now Kayseri), Mar‘ash (now
Kahraman Maraş), Tarsus, ‘Ayn Zarbā (now Anavarza),
Rāwandān (now Ravanda Kalesi), Tall Bāshir (now Tilbaşar
Kalesi), Edessa (now Şanlı Urfa), Antioch,
Ma‘arrat al-Nu‘mān, Ṭarṭūs, ‘Arqā,
Tripoli, Tyre, Acre, and finally Jerusalem. All of them were
surrounded by double, if not triple walls, protected by ample moats.
Their gates were commonly entered through indirect access ways.

Ṣahyūn, E section of castle: Byzantine
main wall
(left)

The Crusaders became acquainted with achievements in
fortification which
were vastly superior to what has been developed by then in the West.
Supported by well-skilled local craftsmen, of whom
Armenians played an important role, they quickly adopted Eastern
fortification schemes like the castrum-type
fortification.
Accordingly, a good deal of the castles built in the 12th
century were modifications of this model. Although Byzantine
fortification in the Eastern Mediterranean is not yet sufficiently
explored, it is beyond doubt that it was a decisive source of
inspiration. For
several reasons this
is hardly surprising. On the one hand the Crusaders
rather preferred Christians as workers, on the other hand numerous
Byzantine fortifications were present in the Levant and more than a few
were taken over by them, in particular in the northern regions of their
realm, e.g. ‘Ain
Zarbā (now Anavarza), Baghrās (now Bakras Kalesi), Antioch, Latakia,
Ṭarṭūs, Ṣahyūn
(now Qal‘at Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn), Balāṭunus, and most of
the castles in the Anṣariyya mountains. The main
contribution of Western architects to Crusader fortification was the
residential tower (donjon), a hallmark of Western
feudal society
not known in the East
prior to the Crusader period. It dominated
the castle and met the requirements of a noble ruler to demonstrate his
power and social status.

Citadel of Caesarea: E wall and gate

From the mid-12th century
onwards the picture
changed with
the rising of the Military Orders. They took over key
strongholds and fortified them, according to their growing economical
potential, to a much larger extent than the former feudal owners could
afford.
During the 13th century the two principal orders, the Hospitallers and
the Knights Templar, played a vital role in the defence of the
Crusader States. They erected huge
fortresses, usually constructed on a concentric ground plan, like
Tortosa (Ar. Ṭarṭūs), Belvoir (Ar.
Kaukab), Chastel
Pèlerin (Ar.
‘Athlīt), Saphet (Ar. Ṣafad), Margat (Ar.
Qal‘at
Marqab), and, best preserved of all, the famous Crac des
Chevaliers (Ar.
Qal‘at al-Ḥiṣn). These 13th-century fortifications reveal stronger
architectural influences from the West, in particular from France.
This is illustrated by the occurrence of rounded or D-shaped
towers, architectural elements in Gothic style and a more
regularly-coursed masonry of smaller stones. The fortifications
constructed during the presence of king Louis IX of France from 1250 to
1254, of which the remains in Sidon, Caesarea and Arsūf are still to be
seen, are of a special interest
in this context.

Citadel
of Damascus:NE-Tower

The
picture is not complete without considering the Muslim military
architecture
of the period. Muslim fortifcations were the main type of defence the
Crusaders were
confronted with when entering the lands of the Eastern Mediterraean.
Additionally, frequent changes of ownership in border
areas promoted the mutual exchange of ideas and achievements. Muslim
fortification
was at a certain height at the arrival of the
Crusaders in the Levant. Ascalon, Jerusalem, Acre, Tyre and Tripoli
were well-fortified cities, the two latter even with a triple wall on
the landside. In the course of the 12th century only few fortifications
were newly built. Major attempts were some town wall
reinforcements, executed by Nūr ad-Dīn, and the erection of the citadel
and the city walls of Cairo by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. The virtual
revival
of Muslim military
architecture started at the end of the 12th century, when an
enormous new fortification programme was implemented. The impressive
citadels of
Aleppo,
Damascus, Bosra, and the castles of Ṣubaiba, ‘Ajlūn and
Baalbek still bear witness of it. These fortifications show an
hitherto unkown degree
of monumentalization in architecture, which is most evident at
the citadel of Damascus. Its enceinte is dotted with huge
rectangular towers at narrow intervals. These massive multi-level
constructions are a hallmark of Ayyubid and the subsequent Mamluk
military
architecture. Their emergence can not be adequately explained as a
response to Crusader fortification
achievements or to the
progress of siege techniques. They should rather be seen as a
manifestation of the reinvigorated power and significance of
the Muslim
elites
in the aftermath of Saladin’s momentous victory over the Crusaders.

After the mid-13th century only few new
fortifications were
built in the remaining Crusader states. A decisive downturn in Middle
Eastern castle building came
with the end of the Crusader period on the Levantine mainland in the
beginning of the 14th century. The Mamluks in their effort to prevent
the Crusaders from taking a hold on the Levantine coast had razed many
of the harbours and their fortifications. They only maintained a few
castles in the hinterland like Marqab and others at strategic points
inland. Although the
kingdom of Cyprus continued to exist, Mamluk attacks were rare and
inefficient, due to the lack of a powerful navy. Therefore, during the
14th and 15th centuries the rulers of Cyprus felt no need to advance
fortification schemes. The
next step in the development of military architecture were the
defence
works of
the Hospitallers on Rhodes and the islands of the Dodecanese, where,
based on the experience made in the Levant, they
created modern
fortresses, in response to the new threat posed by the emergence of
firearms.